


A new beginning, I suppose

by Pokjyshaw



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Psychologists & Psychiatrists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-04-22 23:12:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19138750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pokjyshaw/pseuds/Pokjyshaw
Summary: After the Geosenge accident, Lysandre was caught by the police and brought to a psychiatric hospital to try to help him with his mental issues. After years and years of treatment, the doctors all agrees that Lysandre wasn't crazy, just traumatised but all the horror he saw on his life and that they should try to get him back to the normal life.Of course, he will be under the supervision of somebody they knew was close to the man, that could help him get better and better. And of course, Sycamore accepted that proposition.





	1. First step

**Author's Note:**

> Well, hello there !  
> Before you read this mess, I have a few things to tell you.  
> This is the first story I've ever wrote in english, because english isn't my main language ( I'm french, and we all know that french people SUCK at english.) So if I make basic mistakes and if all of this seems to be a pretty clumsy writing, it's because I'm still not good at everything. If you have any advices, I'm taking anything !  
> I am not someone really good at writing in general, I just do it because I like it. And I need to see much more fluff things between thoses two because dear lord there so much angst fics about thoses two  
> And finally, I have NO IDEA how many chapters there will be for this fic. Maybe this will be the only chapter. Maybe I'll write ten more.  
> Well, that's all folks, enjoy !

White. White and cold. Everything was so white and so cold. The sheets, the walls, his world was white. For how long had he been here? He had no idea. Maybe a year or two. Probably more. Every morning he started the day reminding himself everything he knew so he wouldn't lose all of his precious memories. Sycamore, Pokemon, Lumiose, Kalos, AZ and himself.

But the more he thought about all of those things, the more hope he lost. He was going to be here forever, wasn't he? A white hospital with white psychologists in white bouses. He only saw black when he closed his eyes to think about something else.

Like every day, he went to Mrs.Isabelle's office to answer to different tests. Just a checkup to see if he was still insane. He always answered in a really honest way. He was here for a reason and he knew it. Even if for a while now, everything seemed hopeless. Time has passed and he had hopes for humanity again. Kinda. But at least he did not wanted to murder everybody and would try his best to gain the trust of others. But he was stuck here. And nothing could save him.

He answered the final question, and asked tiredly if he could go back to his room.

"Mr. Lysandre, I think we need to talk about something. Do you know what it is ?"

"... You found out that I opened my window even if I'm not supposed to? I swear, I just needed fresh air, I would never escape, I-"

"Exactly, that's what I'm talking about. We have cameras in your room, you know that ?"

"I didn't. I thought about it but I never saw one, so I guessed there wasn't any."

" Good. We know that this window is broken and doesn't need a key to open it anymore for a while and we watched you open it several times. You could have escaped more than once in the night, and I know that you're pretty intelligent so you could have made a plan to get out without anybody noticing. So please tell me: why are you staying here ?"

Mrs Isabelle was really a sweet person. She always tried to be there to help Lysandre when he was feeling miserable or melancholic and was the first person who gained his trust after the accident. Even if what she asked was something pretty terrifying, he knew that she wouldn't tell anybody and wouldn't judge him.

"I'm not feeling well right now. I can't tell for how long it's been but it's not like before. Everything feels empty here. I don't know why but I just want to feel other things. Just being here to be here isn't enough anymore. It's like I did my best to become a better person but I ..."

He stared at the ground, a miserable look on his face.

"I guess I failed. I wanted to help everybody so much that I lost my goal, and just staying alive to see everyone I had hopes for disappearing of my life makes me feel empty. I want to be like before, create new things to help, talk with people who need to but ... I'm stuck in here. And every time I sit in front of this desk, my hopes vanish a little more. So I just open this window tosee the world I left behind me. I think I really need it, for my mental health. I should have guessed that was another test of yours, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you succeed this test in a much better way that I thought."

"Wha-"

"Lysandre, you've been here for four whole years now. I saw you evolve like no other person in this time lapse. To be honest, almost nobody had hopes for you. I mean, you tried to kill everyone on the planet and were certain that was the best thing that could happen. That was worse than everything I saw. But I see that you're really someone that understood the whole situation and wants to try to live again. We thought that we could try to release you."

He just couldn't believe what he had just heard. The world "release" made him feel like an animal in a zoo but he really felt trapped in here. He was going to be free again. No more white, no more hospital food, he was going out.

"But ... How? When? Do you really trust me ?! And how could I find a job and house ?! Everybody knows who I am and what I almost did !"

Lysandre lost his temper. He wasn't ready at all for something like that to happen and more stressed out than anything else.

"Calm down Lysandre. We thought about everything so it wouldn't be too hard for you. We trust you but still, we can't release you like that. We know that you wouldn't be too lost but you're right, it would be hard for you to get a job and a place to rest. We've contacted one of your friends. He accepted to let you live with him and be his assistant. Would it be okay for you ?"

"Who. Who could still trust me ?" Lysandre wasn't lost anymore but still afraid. Everyone knew and he remembers the face of every single person who came when he was arrested. Sina and Dexio were staring intensely at him, the poor Serena was crying and could barely breathe, Shauna was just chocked and his admins ... They looked like they all lost the will of life.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you a name right now. But I can tell you a date: in 3 days. In 3 days he'll come here to get you. You'll choose if you want to get with him or not. Again, it is your choice. If you don't want to leave with this person or just don't feel good enough for it, we can find other solutions."

'Understood."

"You may leave now. You'll stay in your room for the next few days, we'll get you out when your host arrives."

Lysandre got up, thanked the doctor and asked one last thing.

"May I still open my window ?"

"If course. Take care."

He returned into his room, his big white and empty room, and got back in bed. There wasn't a lot to do there, and sleeping makes time go faster.  
He finally woke up in the middle of the night. He saw a plate of cold food on the floor but left it. Everything tasted terrible there and he wasn't hungry anyway. He opened the window, feeling a little bit of freedom with the wind. It was cold, really cold, but the pyroar-looking man didn't care. In a few days, he would be out. Everything will be okay, his nightmare will soon end.  
And so, for the next days, he waited. He just stared silently at the world surrounding him, sometimes Moving to eat a bit. Time went slowly but it was okay. He was just thinking about what he wanted to do, what he would never do again, who could be the one that trusted him, how, Why... And finally, one day, at about 3 p.m, he heard someone knocking on his door.

"Mr. Lysandre ? Somebody is waiting for you outside."

His heart stopped for a second. That was it. He was going out.

"Please follow me, I'll show you where he is"

He followed the man, looking one last time at those walls. He finally stopped in front of a gigantic door. He went through it once. It was the door that lead outside. He took a deep breath and opened it. The sunlight hurt his eyes a bit, but he was fine. He finally saw a young man in front of a car.  
"... Lysandre ?"

"Sycamore."

The professor looked exactly the same: always with his blouse, looking tired as if he didn't sleep and lived on coffee for a few days ( which was probably the case ).

"You're looking better than I expected, dear."

The redhead wasn't sure about how he should answer that. He may looked similar but he was broken inside. So he just slowly nodded. Sycamore seemed happy but ... Something looked wrong to him.

"So ... Do you think you'd like to go with me? You can stay here you know, I won't be mad or anything if you don't feel comfortable enough, huh ?"

"I would like to go with you, if you're okay with it."

"Come on, I am the one who asked to be your host! Also, I'm not against someone who could help me at the lab."

Again, he nodded. He opened the front foot, sat down and just started starring at everything he could saw. Baby froakies playing with a squirtle, sawsbucks running down the road, flabébés and cutieflies floating around the car ... Everything he could see was amazing.

"Lysandre, what would you like to eat tonight? A great meal would probably make you feel better !"

"... Anything is fine."

"Oh, also, I'm sorry but I don't have another bed yet. You'll have to sleep on the couch for a while, or if you really can't I guess we could sleep in the same bed. I wouldn't mind but is it okay with you ?"

"It's okay."

"Sina and Dexio finally became professors too ! I'm really happy for them but now I'm pretty lonely in the lab. So yeah, you'll be my only assistant."

"Okay."

"Oh, and ..."

He finally saw that Lysandre was trying his best to avoid conversations and eye contact. He lost his smile and happiness.

"Nevermind."

After an hour, they were finally in Lumiose. Everything felt too big and colorful for the poor man, but in a good way. Augustine's apartment was just over the lab and the redhead already went there a few times. Inside felt like home. Augustine was so much more than just a friend. He missed him truly but still hadn't got the guts to really talk to him yet. The thing he feared the most was that he would react badly if he said anything. Guild was the only thing he felt for months and it was hard to get out of it. He tried his best to smile a bit: this was a whole new beginning, better than everything he could imagine. Suddenly, he felt that something seemed ... Odd. He turned around to see that his friend was intensely staring at him, looking much more anxious than before. The redhead opened his mouth to ask him what was going on, but the professor talked first.

" Lysandre. I want you to be honest with me. I will never judge you on your answer, because of your mental state but also because I feel too close to you to ever try to ruin your life again. Are you the Lysandre I knew and appreciated ?"

The poor man tried to say something but nothing came out of his mouth.

"I noticed that you wouldn't to talk to me, touch me or even look at me. You're starring at the floor right now."

True. Lysandre couldn't bring himself to look at him.

"I don't think I can believe you if you say that it was all about your genocidal plans from the beginning. Or at least I don't want to think it's the truth."

"It's not-"

"Please, just answer me."

Tears started rolling down the poor professor's cheeks. His friend approached him to give a hug but stopped in the middle of the movement. He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to touch him.

"I knew it. It's okay. I've prepared myself for this eventuality."

"Please, to believe me Augustine. It's not like-"

"Then was is it ?! Do you think that I look like a dead body ?!"

That was it. The poor man bursted into tears and fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry Augustine, I'm really sorry! I don't want to ever make you feel bad again! It's just that ... I can't do it! I don't want to hurt anyone like I did in the past, and that by touching you, I ... I ..."  
The professor's expression started to change.

" Lysandre, are you alright ?"

" NO, I'M NOT !! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't do it, I don't want to, I don't want to see you again like this, it's all my fault, I-"

He suddenly stopped when he felt something warm on his cheek. Sycamore started slowly to bring the man closer to him, petting his back, sobbing and trying his best to make him stop crying.

" I should be the one to be sorry. Please, please call down. I shouldn't have told you all those things, it was horrible. Please, forgive me. Please."

" I just ... I was just trying to protect you from myself again ... I ..."

"It's okay Lysandre, it's okay. Look. I'm here with you and nothing happened to me. You didn't do anything wrong, I'm the one who did. See ? Everything is fine."

"It was so hard ... I don't think I'll be able to recover completely after all of that. Being there was a nightmare because there was nothing to do. Being here is a nightmare because everything I do is absolutely terrifying." 

They just silently stared at the floor, trying to calm down as much as they could. 

" I know this is probably not the right time to ask about it but ... Lysandre, are we still friends ?"

" I ... Don't know. Would you accept me as a friend ?" 

"Of course, you stupid baby litleo ! You're one the best friend I could ever had. Being without for so many years felt so ... Empty. And lost. And also a lot of things I can't explain. You were always so much more than just a friend to me, I would never be able to forget you. Maybe ... Maybe... Mon dieu I can't say that." 

"Maybe I could ?" 

"Awh, come on. Do you even know what I'm talking about ?"

"Je t'aime."

Everything stopped, their heart, their world, even time seemed. A tear rolled over a cheek. 

"Wh-"

"I'm sorry, did I said something wrong ?! Please, forgive me, I shouldn't have said that, I'm such an idiot, I-"

"Je t'aime aussi, Lysandre."

They hugged, trying to believe what they just both heard. They were at a new beginning. And everything started at that moment.


	2. Let's begin, shall we ?

What happened  
What the hell just happened.  
The sunrise slowly woke up Lysandre, and slowly reminded him what was going on. He looked down and saw Augustine lying on his chest. He wasn't sure if he was smiling or not, but he saw dried tears on his cheeks. Ok ok ok. Let's stop everything and look back on what the hell happened.  
He wasn't on the white place anymore. He was at Augustine's. And the professor was lying on him... Hugging him?! What ?! Why ?! Hold on, hold on. Reminding himself. First, Sycamore went to take him out. Then, they went here. After that, they talked about how Lysandre was acting and why he was so "stopped" by pretty much anything. How did it end ? He wasn't sure anymore. Everything was blurry as hell on his head. Everything went so fast. Lysandre was such a bipolar man, he could break down, cry and smile like nothing happened in a minute. Even if it wasn't in that order most of the time. Why was Sycamore hugging him ? He probably needed a hug, yes, but did he asked for it ? Did his friend understood the situation or did they just fall on that couch to just fall asleep because none of them were take care of themselves thoses last few days ?  
He looked at the professor. That's right, now he was going to be his assistant ! Well ... As an assistant, he should probably let him sleep and recover. But he had to move because the poor pyroar man was hungry. He ate minimum food to stay in a pretty much acceptable condition theses days and having a good meal would be a great way to celebrate his new freedom.  
Slowly, he took Sycamore into his arms and transferred him into his room. Lysandre lost most of his strength theses past years (he had no way to really take care of himself after all) but Augustine was still lightweighted to him. He felt as fragile as a newborn flabébé and he poor redhead was afraid of crushing him every time he moved a bit. He finally put him on his bed and got into the kitchen. He easily found some cereals, a croissant and bottle of milk on the fridge. He felt a bit guilty to take all of theses without asking but it was still better than waking up his host. He took a long breath a thought about everything again. What. Happened. He probably went through too many emotions again and couldn't express them the way he wanted, resulting on him Freacking out about pretty much anything. Damnit.  
Suddenly, the phone, no, the holocaster rang. He wasn't sure about what to do with it but ... He was his assistant now, wasn't he ? Better do his job. He put his finger on the device and a small hologram of Sina appeared.

"Sycamore, please, PLEASE tell me you've slept tonight. I Know that you're going through a lot theses days but PLEASE YOU NEED TO SLEEP."

"He's sleeping, don't worry. I won't wake him up, even if it means that he'll sleep until tomorrow."

"Ly-Lysandre ?! Wha-"

"I really am sorry if it wasn't the one that you expected"

" No ! No no no ! It's a pleasure to see you're here and alright ! Gosh ... After what happened... I mean, no offense, huh ! Sorry. How are you ?"

The poor girl looked happy but pretty much stressed about the man, which was much more than understandable. After all, this day ... She was here. She saw everything. And she remembered everything.  
"I'm fine, thank you. I guess you didn't knew I was going to be with him ?"

"What ? Nah, Syc was talking 'bout it 24/7 ! He was so excited that he wasn't able to sleep for days ! That's why I call ... Wanted to make sure he was okay. After all, no that we're not with him anymore, he has no one to remind him that he should sleep sometimes and eat and drink other things than expressos. Meals should be more than coffees, godamn."

Lysandre smiled. A true smile, he felt like he didn't do that for ages.

"I'll be sure to watch out for all of that... He'll truly never change, huh ?"

Sina was much more comfortable seeing that Lysandre wasn't talking about all that happened. She wasn't sure if he was completely sane again but at least, it seemed that he was trying his best to make things work.

"So how about you, Sina ? Augustine told me that you had your own lab now."

" How yeah ! It's a looot of work and it's exhausting but I really love what I'm doing ! We hoped that we could stay in Kalos but ... We didn't have enough money to get a good place. But by chance an ancient criminal organisation turned into a shelter for pokemon that were abandoned or mistreated by their owner and they have this big big mansion that they shared with us so that we could build a lab in there and it's soooo cool ! The lab is in the 3rd floor and the others floors are filled with thoses pokemons which is super convenient for our studies and they're like super duper friendly with us and awwwwh I love them. We also have a man that's named like ... A letter ? Just a letter. I'm not sure what is name is like ... M ? N ? Somethin' like that. And he can talk to pokemon !! Isn't it perfect ?! Everything is sooo much better than we could imagine !"

"I'm ready glad to see that everything is great for you !"

"Sina ! Please can you come ? There's like a big pokemon which looks like a dragon and WHAT THE HECK IS N RIDING HIM ?! HOW TALL IS THING THING ?! WHAAAA-"

"Welp, it looks like I must go ! Hahaha..."

" It was nice to speak to you again. Au revoir !"

A lil smile, not an awkward one this time, went through her face

"Yeah, bye bye"

The call ended. And it wasn't as scary as he thought. Now, what time is- 4 P.M ?! No wonder he was hungry as hell. He ate everything he took as fast as possible then looked at the fridge to see what was left for dinner. A cup of mayonnaise, a few yogurts and a tomato. Time for shopping, he guessed. A few places went into his mind but... It's not like they weren't safe or anything, however he didn't think that getting out in a public space like this was a good idea. Yes, before, he was known because he created the holocaster, made good pastries, made huge donations to charity and was Augustine's best friend. He's still himself. But he almost killed everybody in Kalos. It was a secret for nobody, and he wouldn't be surprised if in a few years, they'll teach students about how much he was monster and that they where glad that he almost died.  
Sycamore stopped him. But he also saved him. After that fight, Lysandre decided to kill himslef with the impact of the weapon, but Augustine dagged him outside of the city before everything exploded. He remembers everything of that afternoon. He left his place to go to ... Wait, that's it.  
He knew a place that wouldn't change. It may bring back some pretty horrible memories but at least, he wouldn't feel too oppressed. His own Café. 

Lysandre took a big scarf, a hat and the biggest coat he could find, hoping no one would recognise him ( He was pretty gigantic and most of them were too small for Augustine himself but ... It's not like he had any choice. ) then went ouside, checking if the door was closed. Outside. He was outside without anybody to watch him. Was it good ? Did he had the right to do that ? Will it be okay ?  
No, non non non. Everything is fine. He's still himself. 

He tried his best to find his way through the alleys. Everyone gets lost in Lumiose, even the inhabitants. The poor Pyorar man felt ill. Too big. Too many people. Too noisy. But sudenly, a dark red terrasse caught his attention. There it was, the Lysandre Café. Well, almost. The sign reads " Café Némélios". What was he expecting anyway : a place with his name at the entrance ? What a joke.  
He took a bit of time before entering the Café. Everything was just like he left it a few years before. Even the products were similar to the ones he made, except maybe for almond paste-made figures of scorbunnies, littens and fennekins.

"Mister ?"

"..."

"Mister ?"

"Oh ! Yes, pardon me. Is there something Wrong ?" 

" No, no. You just seemed... Off."

"Sorry. I was just thinking about the little figures. They're really beautiful." 

"Thank you sir ! Would you like to buy something ?" 

"Y-yes. I'd like two slices of quiche, a few pains au chocolat, a ham croissant and ... I'd love to try the little strawberry pie right here."

"That'll be 12000 pokedollars please !"

FUCK. Money. Lysandre forgot the fact that he needed money to get food. He tried to reach his pocket and ... Thank god, a wallet. 

"He-here you go. Thanks miss."

He sighed and looked inside the bag. He was hungry as hell but at least wanted to wait for Augustine to eat. At the top of the bag was a little sugar-made figure of a Litleo. 

"Excuse me, miss ? I'm afraid you left something I didn't paid for." 

"Yup ! Don't worry, it's on the house. It's always nice to see that clients appreciate my creations~" 

"Oh ... Okay. Thank you so much."

He didn't exactly know how to react, but was glad that she was so gentle with him. He started to walk to got out when he heard a little voice comming behind him.

"Well, aren't you new around here ?"

"Excuse me ?"

A small old women was eating some macarons at a table nearby, with a smile on her face.

" I'm pretty sure I've never saw you around here. It's pretty rare to see new clients now that the owner isn't here anymore. "

"Oh ... Really ?"

"Yes. It was a really popular place before, but most of the clients left the day the owner became crazy. Some came back because this place had the best pastries of Lumiose, others because of rumours that there might be some secrets in this place... I'm just here because I like the place. It's pretty beautiful and relaxing, even if I miss a lot the ancient owner."

"Oh ... Why do you miss him ? Is it because you saw him so many times here ?"

She laughed a bit

" Yes, but only that. This man was truly someone that cared about others. He was sweet with all of his clients, and even if he was a celebrity he just looked like he wanted to sell his creations like any other baker would do. One day, there was a storm outside, a pretty big one. Everyone decided that staying into the café should be the best thing to do because they might get injured. But the owner saw an homeless man with his furfrou and rushed outside to get him into a safe place. He then let him stay into the café for a few days, giving him free food and a place to sleep. I'm pretty sure that nobody else in Lumiose would have do it. Also, I can't lie on the fact that he looked very pretty."

Lysandre tried his best to stay calm and not to cry in front of this sweet old lady and finally answered.

" That sure looked nice. I hope that I'll get to see him one day."

"Then, I hope that you'll come back here, dear !"

" I'll make sure to remember it."

He nodded and left the place, feeling a bit less oppressed by that big city. But still, it was getting dark out there and he wasn't confortable with the idea of being alone at night. Childish fear, yes, but still.   
He reached Augustine's home pretty quickly and tried his best to not make any sound while closing the door and putting everything back in place. Suddenly, heard a small noise coming from his friend's room

"Hmmghhh ... Hey Lysandre ..."

"Oh ! You're awake ?

Walking slowly with a plate of food, he came into his room

"Yeah, just woke up ... What time is it ?"

"8 P.m. Here, I bought dinner."

"WHAT ?! I'VE SLEPT AN ENTIRE DAY ?!"

"It's called "taking care of yourself", Augus. You haven't slept for days and as your new assistant, I thought that letting you rest was the best thing that could happen to your body and mind."

He laughed tiredly

" Hahaha ... Guess you're right."

"You should be heading back to sleep, I don't think working all night long like you usually do is a good thing for your health."

"How do you know that ? You haven't saw me in years !"

"You've never changed, Augusine, admit it."

"... If I do admit it, can I have something to eat before getting back to the useless and annoying thing called sleep ?"

" Of course. Here, eat as much as you want"

He put the plate on the bed but accidentally touched Augusine's hand, making him step back and shiver.

"You're still afraid ? You literally transported me to my bed !"

" I guess I can't control it ..."

" I guess it means you'll have to sleep on the couch, at least for now, Mister Wimpod."

"Yeah ..."

A flash went through his mind, just a second.

"Je t'aime, Lysandre."

Did he hear that ?! What the hell was that ?! A dream ?!

" Lysandre, are you okay ? You seem disturbed."

"I'm alright, I ... I'm tired too, I guess. Back there it was hard for me to rest well."

"Then, you shall go to sleep too ! It's an order of the one in charge of you ! ", He laughed 

"Can't say no to that I guess. I would probably end up lying on the floor in a few minutes if I don't go to sleep." 

" Then shoo! I don't want to see you anymore today, except wrapped in a blanket !"

He took a last look at Augustine and left the room to let himslef fall on the couch. Everything seemed blurry, especially his mind. He wanted to go back to Sycamore's bedroom but but his leg wouldn't move anymore. A few minutes before he felt strong but now he'd lost all his energy. Maybe it's because he touched Sycamore. Maybe it's because he just let it go after seeing that everything was okay.   
But he didn't tought about it for too long, getting dragged slowly into sleep.


	3. A fluffy beggining

"Hey, sleeping beauty. You plan to stay with your eyes closed all day ?"

Lysandre grunted a bit before yawning.

"Why not ? You did that yesterday, didn't you ?"

"Sorry, but that week I only slept a few hours in total ... It doesn't count."

The redhead got out of bed, stretched a little and grabbed a croissant.

"I knew it. Take care of yourself, damnit !"

"I guess I don't have much of a choice now you're here. You'll probably tell me everyday that I should sleep instead of working."

"That's what human body is supposed to do. Plus, I am your assistant now right ? You should have a lot less to do."

"Guess you're right."

"What time is it anyway ? I don't even see the sun outside"

" About 5.30 a.m I think"

"WHAT ?! Why are you-"

"Sorry but some of the pokemons in the lab must be fed at nighttime and since I already forgot to feed them yesterday, it would be terrible if I was late today."

"Is it my fault ?! Oh god it's my fault. They must be starving and I'm the only one responsable here. God I'm sorry, please let me... I ... I..."

The professor smiled a bit and did his best to look reassuring. His friend was really going from 0 to 100% stressed in a second, and trying to calm him down wasn't that easy.

"Calm down mon ami. It's okay to forget once in a while, and you did your best as an assistant for my health so please don't feel guilty. I can't blame you for such thing."

"But ... I'm the one who let you sleep and-"

"Shhh. Stop. It wasn't even your first day and I weren't by your side to help. I should be the one feeling guilty ! Come on, eat your breakfast and let's go."

The redhead finally got up and took a few bites of his croissant and sighed, look at the window. He could see the Lumiose tower illuminated from there, which wasn't common for an habitation in the city. Usually, views were mostly taken by expensive hotels and other touristic places.

"You're comming Lys ?"

"... Yes."

They got downstairs pretty, and got the first cab they saw. Apparently sycamore usually took his motorbike to go to work but he only had one and Lysandre was much too big to fit on the back. Lysandre didn't say a word on the entire trip (even if it was pretty quick, it still felt long enough to be inconfortable), just to make sure that the driver wouldn't recognize him. When they arrived at the lab, Lysandre got its tongue back and started to talk about how much he missed that place. He wasn't comming often in this lab, but it was mostly because his work took all his time. They entered the hall and sycamore rushed into the garden. Lysandre followed slowly and saw his friend petting a Houndoom.

"Oh yes you're a good boy. Yes you are. Sorry baby I had to left you for so long but it's okay right now, huh ? Look, look, you can have all the pokepuffs you want. I'm going to get you some meat, yeah ? Yes, here, gooood boy."

The demon dog barked and wagged his tail as much as he could. He would have probably screamed how much he loved the professor if he could. The bearded man took a few steps and looked at small flooded area, where he could see red glowing eyes.

"They are my carvanhas, don't worry. They're a bit scary sometimes but not dangerous. You don't have to be so nervous, make all the noises you want ! Pokemons in the garden are super difficult to wake up, trust me."

Lysandre understood that but kept trying not to distub anything in the place. It felt so ... Peaceful. Pokemons were sleeping in pack of three or four to keep warm, it was mostly baby pokemons sleeping on big ones. He sat on the cold grass, feeling a bit of wind go throught his hair. It was a nice feeling that he almost forgot. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms, breathing slowly and deeply, just appreciating the moment. 

"Looks like you're sleepy again, are'nt you ? Come on, I'll show you what you need to do before I find you with the noze on the grass."

He wasn't wrong, Lysandre did felt sleepy. But he had to do was he was meant to do, and falling asleep wasn't part of the job. He got up slowly as he streched, yawn like a big predator and started walking towards the professor.

"Here is your new desk ! Well ... It is also mine but you'll have to be working here without me pretty often. Hope you like it !"

It was a small room, filled with paper sheets comming from pretty much anywhere. Two desks were here, one seemed brand new. He assumed it was his. 

"For now, I'll ask you to check thoses and write a few things."

The blue-haired man put three piles of printed paper in front of him, which were covered in inscriptions with purple and green highlights. Not a really good choice if color combinations but it was so bright that you could see it even if it was miles away.

"So... Here is the thing. Thoses three piles are analysis of pokemon's blood in their normal states, during mega evolution and after it. I want you to write what's different between thoses on the computer and see if there is any correlations between the elements. Also taking notes if you think that there are a few anomalies. Search for pretty much everything you can, anything can help for my researches ! If you need help, just call me. Everything alright ?"

"M'kay."

"It should take you about ... I don't know, 3-4 hours ? You can sleep a bit before working, I made you wake up pretty early. Just take a look to the drawer on your left. Oh, also, you won't be doing this all day long. I have ... Something for you. Good luck ! "

The professor left the room, leaving his new assistant alone. Lysandre didn't move for a few minutes, a bit afraid of being left alone. He finally realised it and took a few steps to the drawer. Inside were a couple of pillows. What was he expecting after all ?  
He put them both on his chair sat down and closed his eyes. Just thinking about everything he had done and was going to do.  
About an hour later, he finally woke up and started to look at the blood tests. There was a lot of informations but he managed to get pretty much what was about what. He found himself to actually like looking at all of the details of every megas, even if it wasn't very important each time. Some type changing made the pokemon use more energy were as defensive megas made the pokemon relaxed and helped keeping energy. He finally heard someone knocking on his door.

"Hello dear ! How are you doing ?"

"Pretty great actually ! Well, at least I think so. I kinda like doing it. "

"Woaw, that's the first time told me that. Did you find something interesting ?"

"Well, I note a few things about it, you can read it later, but there is something that I didn't found on what you wrote that seems like a pattern."

"A pattern ?"

"Yes. I saw a strong difference between pokemons and the energy they used. You see, some lost a big amount of sugar after the mega but others kept the same amount. But thoses who actually kept their sugar had their serotonin much higher than normal and the blood pressure was much lower."

"So the serotonin was certainly used as a way for the body to keep using their power with lowering their blood pressure ? I never thought about that !"

"But there's more. You see, there is a common trait to all of thoses who don't use their sugar. Garchomp, venusaur, charisard ..."

"They're all cold blooded."

"Exactly. I think that their energy came from their body temperature, and that's why the metabolism was slowed after the mega evolution."

"Woaw ! That's ... That's ... I can't believe that you found out about that ! It completely go against my theory but it totally makes sense ! Oh gosh I forgot how amazing you can be !"

"Don't overeact, I'm pretty you were going to get to the same conclusion with thoses stats. You're much more amazing that you might think."

" You're the one who actually overeacts right now. I'm not THAT great."

" Shhh... Stop putting yourself down. "

" I- "

"Let's eat, shall we ? I'm pretty we will be complimenting each other for a while if we don't end this conversation right now. Not that there's anything wrong with that but I think that food is important to live."

Sycamore smiled a bit, and replied

"I guess so."

Lysandre followed his friend, leaving their work on the desk. The bearded man quickly noticed that they weren't completely alone : a few pokemons were following, hidden in the dark. Lysandre walked by as he didn't saw anything but suddenly turned around and grabbed one of the little followers.

"So you thought I wouldn't see you, huh ? Too bad, I have a excellent ear. And so do you, as I see."

" Bulba ?"

" Awh my bad, thoses four are always trying to follow me everywhere. I don't mind but maybe you do ?"

"Not at all, I don't think they will bother me. I guess they are for the megas ?"

"Yes, I have them for about 2 years and a half but I didn't managed to get them to evolve... I'm such a bad trainer. The two charmanders are named Charbon and Flammèche, the bulbasaur is Fleur and the squirtle is Cascade"

The redhead smiled and followed Sycamore with his companions. They finally arrived in a small room with a few refrigerators. He knew the professor wouldn't go to buy things to eat very often and when he did, he would buy a hell lot of things, so having so much refrigerators was pretty obvious for him. They sat down at a table in the middle and Sycamore opened a fridge to get some cold pizza. Almost immediately, one of the charmanders got on the table to see what was happening.

"Sorry ... All that Charbon wants is attention, he's pretty ... How do you say it ? Oh yeah, envahissant."

"It's pretty normal for a pokemon to want attention. Maybe does he want to help ?"

He grabbed a slice of pizza and the little reptile instantly threw a flame at it. The result was a bit burned on the side but still better to eat than a cold thing.

"Good job little one."

"So ... Errrh ... About that thing I wanted to talk about."

"I'm listening."

"I ... When the institute called me for you, they wanted to make sure I was able to ... You know... Be sure you weren't playing a role ? I mean, not that I think you're doing that but, that's what I thought when you ... Well at that time ... And ..."

The poor man seemed to feel pretty anxious, trying his best not to hurt his friend. Lysandre was pretty nervous too but didn't mind that his friend wasn't sure about what he was saying. His situation wasn't the best he could imagine after all, and everything he did before was absorbed terrifying, even for him now that he thinks about it.

"I- I thought about something. You know that some pokemon can only evolve through love right ? And you can't fake thoses things. I don't have a doubt about what you're doing right now but I need to show a proof to the institute that, you know, you're not a ... a ..."

" A psychopath."

"... R-right. So I thought that it would be great to get a pokemon that would help you to get close to a living being again, and would help my researches as well."  
" And what exactly are you thinking of ?"

The blue-haired man smiled nervously and grabbed something in his pocket. It was a luxe ball. He then opened it and a very small pink furball got into his arms, yawning.

"It's a buneary. I don't know if you like it but ... I think that they make wonderful pets and great companions. They don't want me to let you get your team again for a few reasons but I think that some company will do the best for you. Do you .."

"I love it."

" What ?"

" I said I love it ! I never had a bunny pokemon before but I think they're very cute, and you're right, some company will probably be a great thing for me. What's his name ?"

"I-It's a female. Her name is Barbapapa."

" ...Did you seriously nicknamed her "daddy's beard" ?"

" Yeah- I mean, it's just French for "cotton candy" ! She really does look like it, doesn't she ?"

"I ... Guess."

The little pokemon jumped out of the professor's arms to get just in front of the bearded one, staring at him with dark, shiny eyes.

"Hello little one."

"Bun ! Bunbun !"

The little fluffy Mysandre jumped right into Lysandre's arms, making him feel like a protective dad. She started to rub her paws against his chest, waiting for any kind of reaction. He decided to pick her up and taking her as high as he can.

"Looks like you're doing that Pyroar king's scene."

"You're not wrong. After all, it's still a baby. But she as potential, I can feel it. I hope that I will be able to raise her correctly and that she will like me as much as my other pokemons did in the past. I will do my best to help you Sycamore. You shall rise like you always did, and show everyone that you're the greatest professor in the region."

He then hugged the little thing, trying his best to show affection without hurting it. Barbapapa then climbed to the top of his head and started singing to show her joy. It was only then that the redhead saw Sycamore's expression. He was smiling, like always, but it seemed different than before. Maybe a bit more sincere and bigger.

"Why are you smiling like that ?"

"You start to talk like before. It feels great to see that after all, you never truly change... And also she seems to like you, which is already a pretty good start : bunairies usually tries to punch their trainers when they first meet them. "

"So you were expecting me to get punched in the face and you were smiling just like everything was normal."

"No, it's what I mea-"

"I take back what I said. You're actually an awful professor who uses their assistant as a shield and laugh about it"

"Awh ... But I wanted the "greatest professor in your eyes" title ..."

"Guess you'll have to earn it again."

"So unfair ..."

"But you wanted to get me punched in the face."

" Look, bunairies are the only pokemons that fits for my researches and your case, a little punch is better than nothing."

"Riolus can also evolve with love and mega evolve after that you know ?"

"But mega lucarios are so common !"

"Yeah yeah, of course."

They both started to laugh a bit, arguing while Sycamore scanned a few documents and Lysandre brushed his new partner's ears. After about an hour, Lysandre got back to paperwork with his new friend on his head, but still talked to his new mentor which, this time, was in the same room as him. He wasn't the one who started the conversations but he was doing his best to not end them and in the same time, try to get news about the world he missed so much. Nothing really important happened, Some thought that Diantha almost lose her role as a champion but it was just rumours comming from trainers that wanted her to quit. A few new things happened to the gyms too, like new ways to explore and solve puzzles but nothing too important. The only thing that seemed to be changing was Sycamore's status. His work was more and more valued for pretty much every domain of pokemon science and now trainers were more often calling him to show new megas they found, even from other regions ! The most surprising was another professor from the Alola region that found a mega stone for absols when he was looking for z moves stones. It seems that they're still talking to this day, which made the pyroar man pretty happy : Sycamore was always pretty bad with friends and not getting out of his lab wasn't helping it.   
Sun was down already, and the moon was already high in the sky. The bearded man yawned a bit and saw that his new pokemon was already snoring with her tiny voice, right into his arms. 

"Hey, Aug, I think she's asleep ... I'll put her in the garden with the others ?"

" Huh ... Oh yeah, yeah ... go on ..."

Lysandre kept the little thing in his arms, trying his best not to wake her up. opening doors was pretty challenging at first but he quickly mastered the technique. He finally put the fluff ball on the grass, next to the two little charmanders that he saw earlier, then walked back to the room he left. 

"Sycamore ?" 

He found the professor lying on his back on the floor, visibly beaten up by tiredness. He smiled a bit as he put a blanket over his friend.

"Guess we wont go back to house tonight."

And the moon kept shining.


	4. A little bite from the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya everyone ! Thank you if you're still reading this after all of theses months ! I currently have more time to write than before so I might publish the next chapter soon, depending on what are your thoughts about this one.   
> Hope you'll like it !

"BUN ! BUNBUUUUN !!"

"Outch-what the hell ?! "

A little bunny jumped around the room, looking pretty excited. Oh yeah, his little bunny. He almost forgot. 

"I guess I overslept again... Urgh what time is it ?" 

He looked through the window. The sun was just rising. 

"I guess you're an early bird, little one. Sleeping here means getting up quickly. Understood. Urghhh it's going to take a while before I get used to it... Where's Sycamore ?"

The little pokemon blinked and nodded. 

"You don't know huh ? You're still a baby after all. It's okay. You're doing your best, little one."

"Bun !"

The redhead yawned, took the pokemon jumping around and put it on the top of his head. Her small paws started to scratch around before finally deciding to rest up there. It wasn't as cute as a litleo but still, he really liked it. Being pokemonless was one of the most painful things about theses past years. Even if his pokemons were trained to be strong fighters rather than pets, he wasn't against showing a little bit of affection sometimes. He started wandering around the lab. It was pretty ... Immense. The public part of it wasn't even ten percent of the total. He quickly looked around the garden and saw that the pokemons were fed. A few rooms later, still nothing. He had no idea where he was now, and still no signs of a near professor. 

"Char ! Charmander !"

Now, he knew. The sound came out a little room near a chemistry lab. He walked there slowly to finally see his young friend in front of a picture. The room was apparently a place for him to keep his trophies, medals and other things he won through the years with his incredible talent.   
Thinking about it, Lysandre went into this room before, right after a pokemon tournament. It was a special and pretty funny event to watch, where all the professors were invited to fight against each other. Why was it funny ? Because professors usually SUCKS in battle. Knowing type advantages and mega evolutions doesn't mean that they know about strategy. For this battle they had 5 pokemons each, usually given by their students. Sycamore had Lysandre's team with a bonus frogadier that a trainer brought back to him because he wasn't able to train him like he wanted to. And even if he was as good in battle as a newborn zubat, by some kind of miracle he still managed to get to the finale. He was exploded by the Alolan professor only a few minutes after the match began but still, that man almost beat the ligue a few years before. Received a little silver medal with a toony mew on it. Everything was just for fun but still, the professor thanked a lot his bearded friends and his team and went on this room to put the medal on a wall. Back then the room was pretty different. There was only a few items that Sycamore had obtained with efforts and a lot of nights spent not even near his bed. Now, the room was filled with golden shiny objects, that probably weren't even wanted, just received sometimes because he did great and should continue his job. But the thing that kept his attention was the picture Sycamore was starring at. It was just an old photo, nothing much really. Him, his newly evolved garchomp, Lysandre, holding a few litleos and Diantha in the middle, whom just received her new title of champion. That picture was taken the day she beat up the last champion. Everyone was excited as ever. They were young after all, and pretty close at this time. Diantha slowly became more and more occupied with her champion duties and talked less with her friends even if they still loved her. The Garchomp, named Arthur, sadly passed away soon after the picture was taken. An illness called pokerus that usually helps a pokemon growing started to mutate in his body, causing him severe brain damages. And Lysandre, well... He, too, left Sycamore. Guilt came back right away and squeezed his heart. A little appeared in the corner of his left eye when the professor noticed his friend. 

"Oh ! Lysandre ! You're awake ! Are you ... Ok ?"

"Huh ? Oh ! Yes I am. I was just getting a bit nostalgic. Wasn't expecting to see you there."

"Oh ... Yes. I ... I was thinking about what you told me two nights ago. It was pretty unexpected I gotta admit but very sincere of you. I'm not sure what should I respond to it yet but ... I'll make sure that nobody will know about it if you don't want to."

"Et merde. I knew I was missing something... I'm sorry, my friend but I absolutely forgot what happened the night that I came back. I remember that I ended up crying and that I wanted to be close to you but I have no idea of what I said or what I did. Maybe I said something that wasn't really what I was thinking about. Perhaps I was too tired to say anything that made actually sense. May I ask what did I do ?"

Please don't tell me that I talked about genocide again, thought the redhead. That night was tiring as hell and when he was tired, he had no control over his speech and sometimes told things that weren't really his thoughts. One time, after about two nights without sleeping he told Diantha that he was sure that espurr were able to read minds and that he was terrified of them. Sure theses little furballs were a bit creepy sometimes but he actually owned one as a pet when he was younger and they were adorable. 

"Well ... You see ... Mon ami, if you say that you might not have been thinking truly about what you said, I think that it would be better that I don't tell you anything. If you really thought that, you will probably say it again one day. It's pretty special but I wouldn't be too surprised if it was true."

"Really ? I ... You ... Special ? What kind of special ? Was it something bad ? Please don't tell me I said something terrible ... Did I talked about espurrs again ? Gosh I'm such a moron ..."

"Calme toi Lysandre ! I assure you there's nothing bad about what you said. Please don't stress too much over it. Like I said, it would be best if you say it again yourself. And even if you don't tell me again that thing even of it was true, it wouldn't be a problem."

"... I hope I will understand what you said right now one day."

"Trust me dear, you will. After all, you're still brilliant ! "

"If you say so, I guess."

A pretty long silent stayed. A long and sterile one, that everyone wants to end but nobody is able to do anything but stare at the other. Finally, it was one of the charmanders who broke it, whining while hugging the professor's leg. 

"Huuuh ... I need to thank you for your help yesterday ! Your ideas about different energy used during mega evolutions were very useful and I took a bit of my time to check a few more things about it. I really wasn't expecting you to help me that much actually, you saved me a lot of precious days of research ! Today I'll be checking the news, do you won't have to do anything I'm afraid."

"Checking the news ?" 

"Yes ! Mega evolutions are still pretty new to everyone and only a few are well informed about everything. As I said, Mega Lucarios and a few others mega evolutions like the Kanto Starters are pretty popular because they're the most common and well known of all megas. But sometimes people find mega evolutions without even knowing about it, or new keystones are discovered and are usually identified as new kind of precious gemstones. There is a lot to take from random sources so we can find little pieces of the puzzle ! Usually it takes only half a day per month to read everything but I was pretty busy with interviews last month and I forgot to take my day to look at everything. I won't need you to be there today, I already fed all the pokemons of the lab and everything is pretty clean here so ... Why don't you take your day off ? As I said, you're my assistant, and every work deserves to be paid after all. I bought you a new jacket so you won't be too noticed by others. There's a wallet on the left pocket, with a bit of money inside. I-It's all you'll have for that month so be careful to not spend everything at once ! I hope you'll be okay with it, it's not as much as you might had back when you ... You ..."

"It's still a pretty good gift of yours. I wasn't expecting to actually be paid. Thank you very much."

"Wh-what ? Of course I wouldn't just take you there and force you to work for me ! You're not a slave after all ! Still, it's not much but I wouldn't use you as a simple tool ! I mean..." 

Seeing Sycamore panicking was actually pretty cute. He was always pretty bad at explaining himself when science wasn't involved but he was just doing his best. And that good for Lysandre. Everything he needed here was to be with someone he cared about, someone that could help him recover and get back to a normal life. He wasn't expecting to be allowed to go outside and being paid so even if it was only a few pokedollars, it was more than enough. He just couldn't be more grateful. 

"Don't worry about it. Thank you for your trust. I'll be back before the sunset, if you allow me."

"O-of course ! Have a nice day Lysandre !"

"You too, professor."

Lysandre took back on his arms the little bunny that was jumping impatiently on his head and went downstairs. He wasn't sure if she had a pokeball but he wasn't going to use it anyway. She was probably raised to be a little bouncy thing that wasn't made to stay trapped on a ball. He saw the jacket that Sycamore talked about. It was brown, made of leather and shiny metals. Looked pretty cheap yes, but also pretty stylish. He couldn't say he disliked it. He took an hairbrush that was lying around, tried a few things and finally just made his hair look a bit different. Not enough to say that he was a totally different person but more that enough to say that it wasn't obvious or who he was. He smiled, open the door and went on the avenue. Even if it was pretty early in the morning, it was already crowded by thousands of tourists, mostly young people or pretty old couples that wanted to go to the "city of love" once in their life. He looked at the wallet. There was about 30.000 pokedollars inside it. It was still a pretty good amount of money. He smelled a crêperie a few blocks from the lab and quickly remembered that he didn't ate anything that morning. For a few hundreds of pokedollars, he bought a Lumiose galette, a crêpe, a few macarons and some pokepuffs for Barbapapa that she ate pretty quickly. She stared at him with shining eyes, looking for affection in pretty much any way possible. All he could was pet her, hugging was a bit scary since she was still pretty small. Which wasn't a bad thought since he might have squeezed her in shock, hearing screams coming from the other side of the road. He quickly grabbed the bunny and put her back on his head and rushed to the other side, to see a crowd of people surrounding something.

"Can anyone do something ? Is there any trainer here ?"

"Even if there was a trainer, who would want such aggressive pokemon ?"

"Someone could at least beat him in a battle, it would probably call it down !"

"Please, don't attack him and call rangers ! He just looks scared and lost !" 

The redhead came as close as he could but still couldn't see what was happening.

"Excusez moi madame, could you explain to me what is ... All of this ?"

"Oh, yes. There's a Gabite right there. Someone tried to approach it but he bite its hair and now everyone is basically freacking out."

"Thank you. Excuse me ! Can you move a little ? I'm a trainer and I might be able to calm him down, but I'll need you to move to let me reach him and not to stay around him so no one would get hurt, okay ?"

Pretty much everyone started moving, following the only one that seemed to be able to deal with the situation. Bit by bit, a silhouette started to be seen. Skinny, sharp, ferocious. Everything that Gabite needed to be : a predator. Everything except one. The eyes. Thoses eyes weren't ones that belonged to a brutal beast. They were one of the most scared he had ever saw in his entire life.


End file.
